Viridor and WRG denied planning permission for Oxfordshire EfWs

Oxfordshire County Council has denied both Viridor and the Waste Recycling Group planning permission to each build an energy from waste facility in Ardley and Sutton Courtenay respectively.

The local authoritys Planning and Regulation Committee rejected Viridors planning application by nine votes to five and WRG was refused by seven votes to five.

An Oxfordshire County Council spokesperson said: Following the decisions made this week, the county council will now consider its options.

Viridor was recently named as the preferred bidder to provide a solution for Oxfordshires residual waste with a £100 million EfW (see MRW story) but it was refused planning consent even after planning officers recommended its approval.

Viridor project manager Robert Ryan said: Viridor is disappointed with the committees decision to refuse our application despite a recommendation for approval from the councils planning officers and a clear need to divert waste from landfill.

While this decision will inevitably delay our journey towards providing Oxfordshire with a sustainable and cost-effective waste management solution, we will be reviewing out position in due course.

Additionally, WRG was refused planning permission to build an EfW at Sutton Courtenay. After initially bidding for the residual waste contract, WRG decided to proceed with its planning application as a reserve bidder because it believed until financial close there is no certainty that the preferred solution proposed by Viridor at Ardley will proceed. In a statement it said: WRG is disappointed that the committee has rejected its officers advice and refused planning permission for the application for an EfW incinerator at Sutton Courtenay landfill site. Although the planning permission would not have been implemented unless Viridors scheme for Ardley failed to proceed, WRG believes that it had satisfied all planning requirements in its proposal.

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Viridor has posted a rise in underlying profit in its first half of 2018-19, as increasing revenue from energy from waste (EfW) offset lower recycling income resulting from China’s waste import restrictions.

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